Chapter 116: 115 Enmity

In a place where supplies were hard to come by and even Pukiji had no room to land, fight a territory battle against a staggering number of demons who might have powerful backers behind them?

Lin Jun waited until he was full before doing this, and decisively chose to change routes.

Now the bat Pukiji would come in handy!

One by one, the bat Pukiji flapped their wings into different ravines—ideally finding the same ravine Inanna had descended into, but if not, at least mapping out a path without obstructions that led cleanly to the bottom.

But something strange emerged: with so many openings, even if some merged after descending, nearly twenty routes still remained.

But no matter which route, once you flew down to a similar depth, all you saw were the Qianshu Fuyou living there.

The only difference was that a few areas housed solitary high-grade Qianshu Fuyou, while most areas were occupied by swarms of low-grade Qianshu Fuyou.

And whether high-grade or low-grade, upon seeing the descending bat Pukiji, they all charged forward to devour them.

The bat Pukiji couldn't outfly them—they could only detonate themselves.

But that was strange—if every route had Qianshu Fuyou, how had Inanna descended in the first place?

After she transformed into a Pukiji, she hadn't connected to the fungal network, so she couldn't observe her surroundings.

But drifting down so slowly, if she'd encountered these Floating Venomous Moths, she should've been snatched long ago—how did she ever make it down successfully?

Or had something changed in the deep zone after I left?

The influence of the Demon Tide?

Lin Jun wasn't sure, but he knew his direct descent plan would need careful reconsideration.

Whether to fight a battle far from home without terrain advantage—he still hadn't decided.

————

Over there, Lin Jun was still struggling, hoping to find even a single unoccupied corner to sneak down, unaware of the trouble the new employee had just caused him…

A flowered python coiled around Norris, immobilizing him, its jaws clamped onto his shoulder, seemingly injecting venom.

But Norris had 【Toxin Resistance】 and 【Paralysis Resistance】, so he wasn't affected.

Yet even without being poisoned, his situation was grim.

His left arm was pinned to the tree trunk by three flower-ghost roots, leaving only his right hand free to move.

Norris hadn't expected the python to coordinate with the flower-ghosts—he'd been careless and now found himself in a 1-vs-2 disadvantage.

He already regretted sharpening his nails; his only free hand had no claws and couldn't inflict meaningful damage on the python before him.

But if he didn't strike back now, he'd be killed.

Would he even be dumped into the swamp zone if he died?

He shook his head, clearing his thoughts, then used his remaining right hand to grip the python's body, twisted with all his strength to tear open a wound, and bit down!

【Neurotoxin Lv4】

He could poison too!

But this toxin was as ordinary as saliva—he'd never had a chance to use it in battle, yet here he was using it now.

Fortunately, the flowered python had no corresponding resistance; under the toxin's effect, its coils loosened around Norris.

Norris freed his hand, pulled out the roots pinning his left arm, and without even dealing with the python beneath him, turned to flee into the undergrowth.

He was in such a hurry because the fungal network's perception showed three adventurers approaching him—he had to hide quickly…

Another root erupted from the ground beneath his feet, piercing his sole.

"This flower-ghost!"

Norris now hated the flower-ghost with every fiber—he didn't care about the wound or pain; since his transformation, minor injuries healed fast—but not at this moment!

"What's that?"

The adventurers' voices reached him—he froze in place.

"A demon lizardman?"

"Kind of, but he has no tail."

"Even in the dungeon…"

In just a few words, the adventurers had judged his allegiance from his appearance.

The adventurers seemed wary of demons, but then someone said:

"He looks wounded!"

By the time Norris pulled the root from his foot, the three adventurers had already begun to encircle him.

Demons were dangerous, but the reward for killing a demon spy was substantial; when demons and monsters weakened each other, everyone wanted to be the one who reaped the benefit. Norris had been deciding whether to flee or try to explain, but when he saw the halfling among the adventurers, he stopped retreating.

Norris didn't know the halfling's name, but he remembered the distinctive scar beneath his left eyelid.

It was this man—who had stolen his silver coin, and when Norris caught him, teamed up with his companions to beat him up!

Norris didn't know why he suddenly stopped running.

Even if he knew this man had bullied him before, so what?

Hadn't he suffered enough bullying over the years?

He was injured now—he should turn and flee, then ask his boss for help.

Then why was he baring his claws and stepping closer to them?

His memory after that grew hazy—he only felt his breathing grow frantic, his body dancing as if controlled by a demon, beyond his own awareness.

When he came to, the first thing he noticed was the thick, cloying stench of blood in his nose.

His own blood—and the adventurers'.

Beneath him lay the mangled corpse of the halfling; the other two adventurers lay nearby—one covered in claw wounds, the other strangled to death by tree roots.

Tree roots?

"Are you alright?"

Nearby, the tree spirit named Xiao Lv stepped forward, surrounded by Pukiji, and asked.

Because he often operated on the sixth floor, Norris knew it; it was also one of the Boss's subordinates.

It seemed he had received its help?

Norris struggled to recall the details of just now, but could only remember the sensation of claws tearing flesh.

"Th-thank... thank you." Although he couldn't remember, it didn't stop Norris from saying thanks.

However, the Treant merely asked again, "Are you okay?"

Seeming to realize something, Norris looked down at his own body.

The gash in his abdomen was constantly bleeding; he was kneeling because his right leg below the knee had vanished, and there was also this dagger stuck in his heart...

That explained it; how could he possibly have defeated three Silver-rank adventurers...

Little Green caught Norris as he collapsed headfirst and immediately contacted Lin Jun through the Mycelial Network.

Lin Jun was mushroom-stunned.

He had only been distracted for a moment; how had it gotten to this state?

Lin Jun couldn't figure it out; he should have told Norris to hide if he encountered adventurers.

Even if an unexpected situation arose, Norris should have called for him in time!

Why did it turn out this way, a fight where both sides were severely damaged, with Little Green ending up filing the report!?

Instantly, he took over the Pujis that had been following behind Little Green.

Several Pujis were tasked with handling the adventurers' corpses—stripping them and dumping them where the Mycelial Carpet was.

The remaining Pujis rolled up Norris and his right leg, which had fallen in the grass, and headed toward the fifth floor.

"Clear the way! And explain what happened," Lin Jun ordered Little Green directly.

Little Green took the order and walked at the very front.

"I'm not entirely sure of the specifics. I sensed Norris fighting someone over there, so I came to take a look. When I arrived, I saw he was nearly killed by the adventurers; in the emergency, I took down one adventurer."

The Treant was also connected to the Mycelial Network; it was normal for it to perceive situations a bit further away.

Lin Jun had previously instructed the Treant not to attack adventurers proactively, so Little Green explained that point specifically here.

"Hmm."

Lin Jun asked no more; the matter would likely only become clear after Norris woke up.

He was currently monitoring affairs in several directions simultaneously; indeed, he couldn't cover every aspect of the entire Dungeon's situation.

If only the Mycelial Carpet had a replay function...

Or if that long-dormant 【Spiritual Integration】 skill could just level up!

Regarding Norris's situation, he hoped it wasn't because Norris had provoked it himself.

He had already laid down the rules for Norris; a subordinate who doesn't follow the rules is not an asset but a trouble.

Thinking carefully, of his four subordinates now, was it actually Little Green the Treant who gave him the least worry?

(End of Chapter)